X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood is finally speaking publicly about the highly circulated rumors that the film production suffered from constant interference from Fox Chairman Tom Rothman. While Hood admits that he “didn’t always agree” with Rothman, he claims that he “never had a stand-up fight” with Rothman.

“I am very fond of Tom. We didn’t always agree. We certainly never yelled at each other. Some of these fan sites have really been upsetting in that way.I have never had a stand-up fight with Tom Rothman. Never, ever in all his time with me — never. And that is a fact. It’s quite upsetting to see how these things spiral,” Hood told THR . “When he and I are in a room together debating, he’s a very forceful personality — Tom Rothman — and I’m a fairly forceful personality. Did we discuss and debate what stylistically I was going to bring to the movie, and his expectations and mine? Of course. Of course you do that. And I hope it makes the movie better.”

I can’t dispute Hood’s claims, but I find it hard to believe, especially considering that the rumors came from varried sources in different outlets. And we’ve seen these kind of power struggles between directors and studios in the past, and it always usually ends with both sides downplaying the reports to the media as the film is getting ready to hit theaters. But the bottom line is that Hood returned to helm the reshoots without studio interference.